3 Ways to OCR Arabic PDF to Word with Detailed Guide

Converting PDFs to other formats, such as Word and Text, can help fulfill various requirements. The same is the case with PDFs written in Arabic. We know there aren't many tools that support this language, but such conversion needs can arise anytime. It even gets difficult when you have a scanned PDF and need to OCR Arabic PDF to Word.

When dealing with scanned PDFs in Arabic, extracting data from them seems an uphill task. For that, we will discuss a few free online tools that help you convert scanned Arabic PDFs to Word or Text using OCR technology. Moreover, this guide will cover one of the best PDF editors to help you perform OCR on PDFs and edit them on the spot.

Part 1. Can I Extract Arabic Text from a Scanned PDF?

In most parts, scanned PDFs are tough to handle when it comes to extracting text from them, like from scanned Arabic PDFs. However, it is possible and can be easily done if you have the tool with proper OCR technology. These types of software can help users make these image-based content turn into editable text. After that, you can copy and paste the data and use it as needed.

Many online tools are available that support Arabic OCR PDF to Word, but they may also have some limitations. Before using any conversion tool, ensure it has built-in OCR technology so that you avoid switching tools for OCR and conversion.

Part 2. How to OCR Scanned Arabic PDF to Word Online for Free

Now, as we know, OCR Arabic PDFs before converting them is not an easy task. It would help if you had tools with OCR technology supporting the Arabic language. To simplify things, we have explored some free online tools to extract Arabic text from PDFs. These tools are discussed below in detail with their limitations, supported file formats, and instructions on how to use this tool.

Way 1. 2OCR - The Best Free PDF to Word Arabic OCR

2OCR is a free OCR tool if you need to convert Arabic PDF to Text. This tool offers its services without any email verification or registration. Moreover, after performing OCR on Arabic PDF, this tool gives two results in the form of an original file and a converted file, respectively. This OCR-supported tool offers high-end HTTPS protocol, and your files get deleted from the server within an hour.

Coming to the file formats it supports, this tool can easily detect scanned files in JPG, PNG, HEIC, WebP, XLS, DOC, PDF, TIFF, and BMP formats. Along with these benefits, it also has some limitations you must look out for.

For instance, it doesn't offer cloud services, and you will need to re-upload files every time. Plus, you cannot access this tool offline. With that, let's head to the steps given below and learn to use this tool:

Step 1: At the start, access the 2OCR official website on your system browser. Once you are there, drag and drop the scanned Arabic PDF file on the main page of this tool.

Step 2: Afterward, under the "Language," access the drop-down menu and choose "Arabic" from the language list. After that, hit the "OK" to apply the OCR on this file and wait for the process to complete.

Step 3: After the successful OCR process, the Arabic PDF file will be displayed as a preview. Now, you can hit the "Download" icon within PDF to save these files as editable PDFs. You can also press the "Save Recognized Text" button to save the file in the text format.

Also Read: Top 5 Arabic PDF Editors Online Free

Way 2. i2PF - Free Online OCR Arabic PDF to Word Converter

When searching for PDF to Word OCR Arabic tool online, i2PDF stands among the top choices. This OCR tool recognizes over 100 languages, including the Arabic. Also, your uploaded PDFs are automatically deleted after 30 minutes, keeping your PDFs secure. This tool supports various file formats, such as EPUB, JPG, PNG, TIFF, TXT, HTML, DOC, PPT, XML, GIF, EPS, and BMP.

Just like the previous tool, i2PDF also has some limitations. It starts with the annoying ads that you get to see on the tool. This online tool also doesn't support the batch processing feature, which takes time to convert files individually.  Also, the OCR results generated by this tool are not always accurate and need a manual check. Now, head to the steps mentioned below and learn to use this tool smoothly:

Step 1: When you access the i2PDF website’s main webpage, you will see the "Choose Files" button. Hit this button and import your Arabic PDF to perform OCR and convert it.

Step 2: Following this, scroll down and press the "Options" button to choose the "Output File Format" as "Text" or "Doc." Also, under the "Word Options" section, you can toggle the switch to include the images if required. Under the "Selection Recognition Language," select "Arabic" from the drop-down menu.

Step 3: Next, hit the "OCR PDF" button and wait for the conversion and OCR to complete. At last, hit the "Download" button to save files on your device as "Text" or "DOC."

Way 3. Convertio - The Most Popular OCR Arabic PDF to Word Online Converter

When the need to convert Arabic OCR PDF comes up, Convertio is a good option. This online tool, with the support of OCR technology, turns scanned PDFs into editable documents quite easily. It provides support for various file formats within this tool, including PDF, JPG, BMP, GIF, JP2, JPEG, PBM, PCX, PGM, PNG, PPM, TGA, TIFF, and WBMP. Convertio also recognizes text in over 70 languages to perform perfect OCR.

Heading to the limitations associated with Convertio, it offers no more than 10 pages in the free version. Also, being a free tool, the processing time of this OCR tool is quite slow and takes up time for files to convert. The privacy concern remains due to a free tool and very low-security protocols. With that, check out the below-guided steps and start performing OCR on scanned Arabic PDFs:

Step 1: Head to the Convertio webpage on your device browser and click on "Choose File" from the system, "Dropbox," or "Google Drive." Once added, you can tap "+ Add More File" for batch OCR and conversions.

Step 2: Afterward, under the "Select All Languages Used in Your Document" section, choose "Arabic" from the drop-down options. Moreover, choose any additional languages if your scan contains any. Now, select the "Word Document" or "Text Document" option under the "Output Format & Settings" drop-down.

Step 3: Hit the "Recognize" button to perform OCR on the scanned PDF. When the process is finished, scroll up and click on the "Download" button to get this file as per the output format selection.

Also Read: The Ultimate Guide to the Best Arabic PDF Editor

Part 3. How to Convert Scanned PDF to Word With OCR for Non-Arabic Languages

After we have explored three online OCR tools along with their limitations, let's talk about the best PDF editor in that market that a user can use even when offline. UPDF serves as the top-choice tool for a variety of PDF-related needs. The major issue of dealing with scanned PDFs is quickly resolved by this tool with its built-in OCR feature. This tool supports 38+ languages and turns scanned PDFs into editable files. Get the tool now!

Users can even customize the settings as per their requirements before applying the OCR feature. The OCR results provided by this tool are of top-notch quality and most accurate. Moreover, the OCR feature in this tool offers to deal with two types of documents such as searchable PDF or image-only PDF. UPDF provides users with 9+ formats to convert their files to.

Before heading to the instructions to use this, know that, as of yet, UPDFs OCR technology doesn't support the Arabic language. However, UPDF is planning to integrate this language soon into the tool and release it to the general public. Now, let's check the steps on how to perform OCR on PDFs and convert them:

Step 1: Launch UPDF and Access the PDF

First, download and install the UPDF PDF editor on your system from the official website. Locate this tool on your device and double-click to launch it. Head on and press the "Open File" option to explore the scanned PDF you want to make editable.

Step 2: Enter OCR Mode and Set Custom Settings

After the scanned PDF is imported, enter the "Recognize Text Using OCR" mode from the right-side toolbar. As the extended menu on the left side opens, set the "Layout" using three built-in options. Also, for advanced settings, tap on the "Gear" and make changes. Afterward, choose the required "Document Language," set "Image Resolution," include any "Page Range," and hit the "Perform OCR" button.

Step 3: Convert the Editable PDF into the Desired Format

Once the PDF gets editable after a successful OCR, head to the right-side toolbar again and click the "Export PDF" button. There, choose "Word (.docx)" from the list and set the "Page Range" if needed. At last, hit the "Export" button and save the file on your system as an editable Word document.

Other Features Offered by UPDF PDF Editor

As we already know, performing OCR on scanned Arabic PDF isn't available in UPDF yet, but you can edit the Arabic written PDFs easily using the UPDF Arabic PDF editor. Using the Edit PDF mode, you can add any text to your PDF, rectify any text, change the PDF font color, size, alignment, and many more options. You can even insert images and link the content to external web pages.

Furthermore, you can annotate your PDFs by adding comments, sticky notes, signatures, stamps, and even a text callout box. For much better enhancement, users can use UPDF AI to summarize lengthy PDFs, explain difficult terms, and translate PDFs to various supported languages. If your files PDFs are large, choose to compress them to maximum, high, medium, and low quality.

To learn more about UPDF, you can read this review article or watch the below video guide.

If you find the UPDF is what you need, you can click the below picture to purchase the UPDF at a low price.

If you want to edit or OCR the normal Arabis PDF, you can use UPDF as the best PDF editor. This tool offers an array of features along with fulfilling user's editing needs. So, are you still thinking about which tool to use? To get the most accurate OCR results, download the UPDF PDF editor on your system. To get this tool easily, press the "Free Download" button below. However, to use some advanced features, purchase UPDFs premium plan right away.